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Rabat – The number of irregular migrants crossing to the European Union (EU) through Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa dropped by 53% year-on-year at the end of September.
Over the first nine months of 2022, EU external border authorities detected 12,349 undocumented migrants that crossed through Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa, with 1,807 of them entering during the month of September, according to data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
Despite the decrease in migration through Morocco, the overall number of undocumented migrants crossing to Europe rose by 70% year-on-year, the highest growth rate since the first three quarters of 2016.
In the report, Frontex explains that the Western Balkan route remains the most active migratory route into the EU with 19,160 undocumented migrants detected in September, double the number from last year.
The central Mediterranean also continues to be a hotspot for undocumented migrants crossing to Europe. At the end of September, Frontex detected over 7,200 irregular crossings, a 5% increase from last year.
The number of irregular crossings to the EU totaled 228,240 at the end of the first nine months of 2022. However, the figures do not factor in Ukrainians crossing into Europe through its Eastern borders.
Fortex explains in its report that Ukrainians are not “part of the figures of illegal entries detected.”
The European migration watchdog follows the EU’s narrative in categorizing Ukrainian as first-class migrants. The number of migrants crossing from Ukraine reached a staggering 11 million nationals.
Read Also: Moroccan Migration to Europe Persists Despite Tight Border Security
